McCoy must ‘prove’ himself to Gruden this Sunday

November 28, 2014

It is Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden’s ego that put Colt McCoy in position today to be the starting quarterback for this team against the Indianapolis Colts.

I’m not criticizing Gruden. It’s just what coaches do, especially quarterback coaches. They see a guy from afar that they like and are convinced that if they laid hands on him, he would be healed and become a winning NFL quarterback.

We saw it here before with Mike Shanahan, who coveted John Beck from afar, after he had already washed out with two teams, but still Shanahan felt compelled to trade for him to bring him to Washington.

Mike Shanahan found out soon he wasn’t a miracle worker, but he gave you a glimpse into the mentality of these coaches when he declared about Beck and Rex Grossman that he would “stake his reputation” on their ability in play in the NFL.

Jay Gruden watched Colt McCoy from afar when McCoy was struggling in Cleveland and Gruden was the offensive coordinator in the same division in Cincinnati. He thought to himself, I can get this guy to play and play well.

So Gruden called McCoy last April and asked him to sign as a third string quarterback with the Redskins, telling him that “you never know what could happen.”

Washington didn’t need a third string clipboard holder. They already had one in Grossman, who had the respect of his teammates and seemed perfectly comfortable in that role.

Yet Gruden went out of his way to get Colt McCoy to come to Washington? Why? Because he thought he could make this guy a successful NFL starting quarterback.